


Christmas in Space

by WriterofGotham



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Christmas, Drawing, Fluff and Angst, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Team Bonding, Team as Family, Unconventional Families, they miss earth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 10:26:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13121820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterofGotham/pseuds/WriterofGotham
Summary: The Paladins celebrate Christmas in space with each other.





	Christmas in Space

“Christmas is so close!” Pidge exclaimed as she looked up from her computer surprising the other Paladins. She’d been working on her laptop researching things and she looked at the day of the year, it hit her how long they had been in space. It had been months since they stumbled into finding the Blue Lion.

“What day is it by earth standards?” Shiro asked he’d spent so much time away from earth he had almost forgotten about holidays like Christmas. 

“December 22,” Pidge said thinking back to her mom, a pang of homesickness hit her. They had been in space for so long, helping people as Voltron kept them busy from thinking about home. They all stopped the activities they were engaged in, Lance stopped fiddling with a book he’d been trying to read ever since the Blue lion had been found, it dropped at his side as he was overtaken by memories of his large family. They didn’t even know if he was still alive or not. 

“My mom, dad, and sisters probably thought I got abducted by aliens,” Lance laughed a little at his joke, “My mom made the best Mexican fruit cake,” Lance thought back to all the Christmas he was home and surrounded by love and family, not teammates and space filled with Galra who would kill them all without a second thought. 

The mood in the rec room turned melancholy as they all thought back to Christmas’s they had in the past. 

“What is this “Christmas”?” Allura asked in wonder at the earth customs she had yet to know about. 

“It’s the annual Christian festival celebrating Christ's birth, held on December 25. Even though many studies prove he was most likely born in April. Families get together and celebrate and be with each other,” Pidge explained. 

“Lots and lots of food, turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, and all kinds of pie, oh and cake and eggnog. My mom and grandma would cook for days in preparation for it. We didn’t give each other presents because there were so many of us. It’s my favorite holiday,” Hunk sighed as he thought about his chair that would be empty that Christmas. His family didn’t know where he was or even if he was still alive. 

“My family used to play board games on Christmas Eve the winner got to open presents first the next day. I was the youngest and my sisters would let me win for years,” Lance’s eyes went soft at the memories. 

“My family would get KFC every year. It didn’t matter when we moved, we always got KFC, it was tradition,” Shiro laughed. He thought back to all the Christmas’s with his grandparents that they had to explain why KFC was so important to KFC employees in America. Shiro had loved his grandparent's old traditions that reminded them of Japan.

“I remember I was so confused when you brought me to your house for Christmas until you explained what a tradition KFC was,” Keith said thinking back to his first year at the Garrison when Shiro practically forced him to come with him. Keith had been so embarrassed when they both made over him just because he was Shiro’s friend. 

“Christmas sounds like a festive celebration! We could celebrate it here with each other.” Allura suggested. It sounded like it would keep up morale, for her Paladins and it had been so long since she and Coran had celebrated something good. Most of her teenage years had been surrounded with the talk of war and death of all of her people. Christmas sounded like something good. Allura saw how the Paladins eyes shimmered with excitement at the talk of it. 

“Yeah, that sounds better than avoiding it completely,” Hunk said, knowing it wouldn’t be the same as other Christmas’s. No family, no home cooked earth food, and no gifts. 

“Last Christmas my mom just cried for dad and Matt. I wish she wasn’t alone,” Pidge whispered. 

Keith didn’t say anything as he remembered his last Christmas in the desert. He didn’t notice the day until he saw that the Garrison wasn’t running any drills. He mapped out the cave and spent the day drawing the lion scratches on the walls, and sharpened his knife. It wasn’t the worst Christmas he had by far being alone was better than some of the foster families he’d stayed with. 

“I remember on Christmas where the power went out on Christmas eve and we had to open presents with headlights. It wasn’t cold, but it was dark. I woke up everyone at 6:00. I was eight then. I never dreamed I’d ever celebrate Christmas in space,” Lance said.

“I always wanted to. Dad always said how beautiful it was One Christmas he took us star gazing, it turned into a tradition. We should do that Christmas,” Pidge suggested. 

“I’ll try and make some Christmas like foods,” Hunk said as he tried to think of things to make out of space goo that would be festive. He loved Christmas, even if he wasn’t with his family. 

“We have to teach Allura and Coran to sing Christmas carols!” Lance exclaimed thinking of all the songs and parodies of Christmas songs. “Feliz Navi Da, Jingle bells Batman version, and Silent Night.” 

The subtle shift in the room was noticeable instead of thinking of all that they were missing on earth, they were thinking about how they were going to celebrate in space with their teammates, and friends. Hunk was thinking up ideas of what to do for Christmas dinner. Lance was remembering all the lyrics from every Christmas songs as he searched for paper or any other thing to write the lyrics down on. Pidge was off finding a plant she had taken with her from a planet that looked like a Christmas tree. Keith was wracking his brain thinking of ways that Christmas was celebrated. Shiro thought about all the Christmas’s he’d spent, and how much his family tried to make it good for him. The Paladins deserved a good Christmas after fighting with Zarkon for so long. 

The days before Christmas were filled with checking of Galra patrols, and preparing for Christmas. The excitement was contiguous even Coran and Allura were growing excited. Lance had taught them every Christmas song he knew they could be heard all of the castle of lions. The Paladins didn’t mind when Coran mixed the lyrics. (Jingle Bells and We Wish You A Merry Christmas were never meant to be joined) Allura had a better time learning the songs, she just couldn’t get the tunes to the right song.

It was decided that they wouldn’t exchange gifts. None of them had money or a place to shop. The space mall was far away and they had been banned from the fountains. It was bad. When they left earth they barely had anything in their pockets and nothing that the other Paladins would want or need. A few pictures in wallets (Lance and Hunk), a handful of real earth money (Lance), a chocolate bar, (Hunk) multiple knives (Keith) homemade science equipment, (Pidge) and Shiro didn’t have anything in his. 

All the Paladins seemed to have a special purpose now that they knew Christmas was coming. Keith was less surly and had been working on something in his room that he wasn’t talking about. Keith didn’t have the same memories that the others did of family and Christmas traditions. Being in space with Allura and Coran the Paladins felt a lot like they were in a warped Hallmark Christmas movie. 

Shiro was singing Christmas songs with a less haunted look in his eyes. Shiro loved having something other than the Galra Empire on his mind. It wasn’t his first Christmas in space, but this was going to be the best Christmas he spent in space. 

Lance still missed his family it had only grown worse with knowing it was Christmas, but he was working hard so they could have a good “space Christmas”. His iPod had no Christmas music at all, he regretted that Allura and Coran would never hear Bing Crosby. He was working on a way to make the others feel more at home in Space. He wished that he could see his family again. Hug his mom tell her he didn’t mean to leave without saying goodbye. He didn’t know how much his family had changed he remembered that his aunt and uncle wanted a baby. Was there a cousin he didn’t know about yet? 

Hunk was working on making everyone a Christmas dish that was special to them. He couldn’t find anything close to chicken, or nuts. The cookies that were supposed to taste like sugar cookies somehow were green and had a terrible asparagus flavor. It was slow going on the food front. Hunk thought about when he was small and his mom taught him how to cook. It was with his brother and sister and they laughed and talked as she taught them to make anything. He once asked her if she could make ravioli and so they had, it wasn’t bad. 

Pidge was thinking about all the traditions her family had if there was only a way to start new ones with her “space family” she had narrowed down some things that weren’t possible. Pidge found that everyone was excited and she wanted to do something special with them. Her idea was going to have to be good enough for her friends. She was hoping that this Christmas would be the last without Matt and her Dad. 

They all worked and when Christmas finally came they checked for any patrols or distress calls that might need Voltron. It was quite, Coran assured them as they set down for breakfast. It was quite a spread that Hunk had prepared for them. 

“I tried guys, I hope you like it. It’s different than food goo at least,” Hunk said as placed the last bowl of breakfast on the table. All the Paladins tried the new food with gusto. None of them mentioned that the purple goo tasted like green with coffee extract, or that the cookies tasted like broccoli. 

“This is good Hunk. Can you imagine how bad a Christmas dinner would be at the Garrison? The mystery meat was something Sherlock couldn’t even solve,” Lance laughed. 

“Yeah, I think I lost ten pounds when I first came the food was awful and the simulations made me puke.” Hunk said, “It’s a wonder I’m not skinny like the rest of you.” 

“I’ve always wondered about that. I guess we need someone on the team who gives out good hugs,” Lance said. 

“Why is Hunk the only one who could give out good hugs?” Keith asked bewildered. 

“It’s a fact that Hunk gives the best hugs. We don’t know why and we don’t want it to change,“ Pidge said in a matter of a fact way. 

“What do humans typically do now on Christmas?” Allura asked changing the subject. 

“It depends, presents can be opened. My family would pile in the car and go to my grandparent's house,” Lance said. 

“I would watch the Claymation movies with Sofu and Baba. I could recite them word for word." Shiro said thinking back to when he was younger. 

“I stayed with a lot of families when I was younger and they all had different things that they would do. I liked one where we went to church and listened to a choir,” Keith said. 

“What is a choir, and church?” Coran asked. 

“A church is a kind of like a temple, I guess. Choirs are a bunch of people that practice and sing together the Garrison used to have a boys choir, but it fizzled out,” Lance explained. 

“I was in the choir. That was terrible I almost failed the course,” Shiro said as he laughed at the memory. 

“I didn’t think you ever failed a class,” Pidge said in amazement. 

“I almost failed choir. They said I had no talent and should concentrate on being a pilot and not a singer,” Shiro said. 

As soon as Hunk cleared the table Pidge announced she had a surprise for them in the lions bay. They walked down not sure what to expect. This was Pidge and it could be anything from a robot to the plans for the entire Galra Empire. 

They weren’t prepared for a sad looking plant covered in space floofs and Green lion was decorated with scrap strands of red, silver, black, and green wires. It looked like a sort of tinsel on the green lion. It was festive, despite how it sounded. 

“I can’t believe she let you do that,” Shiro said. 

“She understood once I explained about Christmas. The space floofs did too, they like the plant,” Pidge explained. 

“It’s great Pidge, it’s like a little piece of home,” Lance said as he thought about what his family was doing then. 

They spent the rest of the day telling stories of their favorite Christmas’s. They sang all the carols and ate way too much food. Hunk made so much and it tasted good. It was fun team bonding without actually fighting, or do weird trust exercises. 

At dinner, Keith gave out drawings he had drawn for each of them. They were done simply with just a pencil and light shading. Keith had been working on them each night. He wasn’t sure how they would like them, but the reactions were positive. 

“Keith, this is wonderful. I love it,” Allura said as she looked at the impression of her father. 

“I thought you would like it since you lost the hologram version of him,” Keith explained. 

Coran didn’t say anything, but his eyes watered a little as he looked at the picture of him and Allura. Pidge smiled at her picture of her, Matt, her dad, and mom. “How did you draw this?” 

“The mind meld mainly. I remembered all of you looking at pictures or snippets of memories of your family, I just drew what I saw.” Keith half mumbled. 

“You really have my mom’s sass down,” Lance said as brushed a finger over his mom’s face. “This reminds me of the Christmas we opened presents with headlights, it seemed like it was going to be terrible, but it was pretty great. I’m glad I’m with you guys in space.” 

“I like this Christmas. We should celebrate it every year,” Allura said looking at all of the Paladins. 

 

Holt family : 

Mrs. Holt knew the day was coming, and when Christmas came it reminded her that she was alone. The Garrison had told her “Pilot error” and later “It was classified.” Why did Katie think running away to join the Garrison was a good idea when it practically killed her father and brother, only to kill her too.  
She sighed, it was going to be a long day. Her life had turned into a series of long days, and longer weeks. She moved around her house like a ghost just looking at her children’s untouched rooms. The first Christmas was supposed to be the worst, but at least she had Katie.  
Why was space so cruel to take everyone that mattered to her away? 

McCain Family :  
The house was filled with laughter and shouting. Kids were chasing each other and having fun with games they made up. It felt like Christmas with aunts and uncles and cousins. When they sat down for dinner no one commented on the extra seat that was empty. The younger cousins who were only two or three had started to forget about Lance.  
Lance’s mom cried a lot it was the first Christmas without her baby. Lance was the youngest and had never missed a Christmas, he made sure that he could come home each Christmas in the Garrison. Now the only people that knew where he was could only tell her it was classified.  
No one mentioned that Lance was missing and most likely dead, but they didn’t have to. They all had been so proud when he got accepted into the Garrison and then out of the cargo pilot and into a fighter pilot. Christmas felt emptier to them. 

 

Garret Family :  
Hunk’s mom was inconsolable she and her husband had almost decided not to celebrate Christmas. Hunk’s little brother knew that Hunk would have hated it if they pretended that Christmas didn’t happen, he convinced them to celebrate. It wasn’t like Christmas’s in the past. The tree didn’t have any homemade Christmas ornaments their mom declared them off limits. Any little piece of Hunk was saved and treated fragilely. The Garret family was lacking laughter and warm hugs. It seemed colder than usual in the house even though Hawaii was the same sunny bright temperature.

Shiro’s grandparents that raised him died his senior year in the Garrison. 

Keith is an orphan, he sadly didn’t have anyone that noticed he was gone.

**Author's Note:**

> Sofu and Baba are the Japanese words for grandfather and grandmother. 
> 
> I hope it's good, I finished it late last night and edited on my phone this morning on the way to my Grandparents house. So yeah, it will be edited later on after the holidays more intensely. 
> 
> I had a few paragraphs of Pidge explaining Christmas orgins, but it got dry and didn't add much to the story so it got cut. If you want Black Peter, Odin as Santa, and Krampis are interesting reads, if super creepy.
> 
> Merry Christmas/ Hapy holidays! I hope everyone has a great day if there are with their families or found families!


End file.
